See Hear Podcast Episode 95 - Summer of Soul (Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

In the year 1969, Richard Nixon became president of the United
States, James Earl Ray plead guilty to the murder of Dr Martin
Luther King, multiple planes are hijacked to Cuba, the Stonewall
Rebellion took place, and the war in Vietnam raged on. ….but there
was an incredible music festival that took place for the third time
in Mt Morris Park in Harlem, that for years no one recalled.
Welcome to See Hear Podcast episode 95. Tony Lawrence was a lounge
singer who had a vision to bring some joy and positivity to Harlem.
The African American population had undergone poverty and police
brutality. Lawrence assembled the first Harlem Cultural Festival in
1967, but the lineup of 1967 was truly amazing. Started a full two
months before Woodstock, this festival held over a series of
weekends over the summer featured the likes of Nina Simone, Stevie
Wonder, The Staple Singers, The Fifth Dimension, B.B. King and many
others. 40 hours of festival footage was shot for local TV
networks, but shortly after, the festival and its footage were
forgotten by most – and Woodstock became ubiquitous in popular myth
as the cultural event of a generation. In 2021, drummer, DJ and
music director Questlove released the film “Summer of Soul (Or When
The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” about that event featuring
much of that magnificent footage.....but this is not a concert film
in the conventional sense. There are interviews with musicians and
those who attended the shows – both from the time and contemporary.
To contextualise the period the show was born into, we get news
clips about the moon landing, poverty, radicalism, Martin Luther
King's assassination and a lot more. This footage is not slotted in
as an afterthought – it goes hand in hand with the music, and is a
masterpiece of editing. Tim was not available, but Bernie and
Maurice were joined by film writer, broadcaster, and commentator
Emma Westwood to discuss the wonder of the event – both musically
and politically. The film is completely worthy of the praise and
hype. We hope to convince you that you need to see this – in a
cinema or on a streaming service. Our gratitude goes to Emma who
brought an amazing conversation to the show (no surprises there).
She will be back – make no mistake. Her knowledge and enthusiasm
really made the show. You can find details of her work at
https://emmawestwood.net/ She will soon release a book she's
curated on James Whale's “Bride of Frankenstein”........Mmmmm, book
GOOOOOOOOOOD. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider
giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know
that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your
adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is
proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out
all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com. Send
us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com Join the Facebook
group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast Check out the
Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en You can
download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app
you favour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
megaphone.fm/adchoices